As much as I’d like for it to happen, it seems that the idea of a Halo live-action film ever being made is little more than a fanboy dream at this point, but perhaps a live-action web series featuring Master Chief will light a fire for that project once again.
Variety is reporting that a live-action Halo web series will be released in the weeks leading up to the release of Halo 4 on November 6 of this year. The series will be titled “Halo: Forward Unto Dawn” and will consist of five episodes each with a running time of around 15 minutes.
“Forward Unto Dawn” [will tell] an original story about the game’s Master Chief and how he inspired a young UNSC cadet who will eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC Infinity spacecraft. Introduction of the new character will tie in with the plot of “Halo 4,” while providing a flashback to the beginning of the “Halo” franchise’s war between the humans and the evil Covenant.
Frank O’Connor, 343i’s Development Director noted that there has always been a lot of excitement surrounding the various live-action Halo commercials that have been released over the years, and that excitement was one of the drivers that led to the creation of this web series.
“We want to see more so that we can explore the ‘Halo’ universe a little bit more,” said Frank O’Connor, franchise development director at 343 Industries. “Demand grew more and more out of the two little vignettes we’d previously produced.”
“Playing the games and reading the books or other “Halo” spinoffs is “a big commitment,” O’Connor said. “We needed a way to ensure there was a way for people to get onboard this universe without feeling intimidated.” As a result, the Web series is “an origins story that teaches you about a lot of different facets of the (‘Halo’) universe.
There is no question that the Halo franchise is huge, and fans have been hoping for a live-action adventure set in that universe for some time now. While this web series certainly isn’t the film many were hoping for, it sounds like Microsoft is sparing no expense to ensure this series is top notch. I’m not sure if this series will reach the audience beyond the Halo fans like they are hoping, but I know those of us who are fans of the series will be checking these out as they lead up to the release of Halo 4.
Watch for “Halo: Forward Unto Dawn” to be released on Halo Waypoint in late September/Early October this year.